Four Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday. This brings the death toll in the previous day's clashes to five. All the slain soldiers were serving in the Samshon Battalion of the Koffir Brigade. Israeli media The Times of Israel reported this news.
According to the preliminary investigation, an anti-tank missile was fired at the soldiers while they were stationed in a building in the northern part of Gaza. They were killed. Kofi's brigade was conducting an anti-Hamas operation in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.
The incident brought the Israeli death toll to 375 from Israeli ground operations and border clashes in Gaza. One of them was a policeman. He was killed while rescuing a hostage. Besides, a defense ministry contractor was also killed.
Another soldier was killed in a separate anti-tank attack in Jabalia on Monday. He was 34-year-old Major (Reserve) Itamar Levin Friedman.
The IDF's military operation in Jabalia began in early October. This is the fourth raid on refugee camps in northern Gaza since the start of the war in Gaza. According to the IDF, the operation will destroy Hamas strongholds.
The IDF claims that more than 55,000 civilians have fled Jabalia and taken refuge in Gaza City. It was previously estimated that there were about 60,000 Palestinians living there. Some people crossed the IDF-built Netzerim corridor and reached Israel's humanitarian zone in the south. The IDF said last week that only a few hundred people, including civilians and fighters, remained in Jabalia.
The IDF said it killed more than 1,000 Hamas members and captured another 1,000 in the new operation in Jabalia.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel. 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage. In response, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza.
More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza. It does not distinguish between the number of civilians and combatants.
